Safety shut-off for fuel burners



Feb. 4, 1958 G. P. HAYNES,

SAFETY-SHUT OFF FOR FUEL BURNERS Filed March 15, 1954 4 Sheetsh-Sfieet 1 INVENTORY United States Pa n SAFETY SHUT-OFF FOR FUEL BURNERS George P. Haynes, Massapequa, N. Y., assignor to Todd 'Shipyards Corporation, a corporation of New York Application March 15, 1954, Serial No. 416,344 3 Claims. (Cl. 158-73) This invention relates to safety shut-off devices for fuel oil burners and is particularly useful in connection with high pressure burners in which the oil as supplied to the atomizer has substantial pressure. Many such burners are used in marine and other large power installations.

In oil burners of the character described the oil, usually preheated, is pumped to an atomizer nozzle under sub stantial pressure, for example 200 or 300 lbs. per sq. in. At intervals it is necessary to remove the atomizer nozzle so as to clean or inspect the atomizing tip, or replace the tip and orifice plate. Usually such burners are used in batteries associated with one or more furnaces, the several burners in a group being supplied with oil from a single pressure manifold. If one of the atomizers is to be removed, it is necessary to shut off the oil supply to that particular atomizer, while maintaining the pressure on the manifold to supply the other burner of the battery. Under these conditions there are two sources of possible danger connected with the removal of an atomizer; first, the atomizer may be loosened for removal without shutting off the oil supply to it, and second, while the atomizer is removed for repair or replacement, the oil supply valve may be accidentally opened. In either case hot oil is discharged into the fire room, frequently with disastrous results.

It is the object of the present invention to provide an interlocking safety construction which will prevent discharge of oil whenever the atomizer is not tightly secured in fully operative position.

In the type of construction herein illustrated and described, a lever operated cock is installed in the fuel supply line from the manifold to each atomizer. The atomizer barrel and handle which contain passages through which the oil flows to the atomizer tip can only be loosened for removal by the unloosening of a clamping screw which engages with a rotary nut mounted in a fixed housing, detachable means being provided for connecting a screw operating wheel with this nut. wheel can only be engaged with the nut so as to rotate the same after the cock operating lever has been thrown into a position to close the cock. Thus the oil connections through the atomizer cannot be loosened until after the oil supply is shut off.

In order to prevent accidental discharge of oil if the cock is opened inadvertently while the atomizer barrel and handle are removed, check valve means are provided The screw operating 4 which close automatically upon removal of the atomizer handle and are opened only when the atomizer handle is again clamped in operative position.

In the accompanying drawings one preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated to show the principle of the invention, and the best mode now known to me for practicing the same. construction shown are of course possible.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing an atomizer body Modifications of the specific casting mounted on the end of a jacket tube, the atomizer handle, oil supply nipple, atomizer screw grip and linkage.

and part of the atomizer barrel, the atomizer handle being.

locked in operative position.

Figure 5 is a view in horizontal section similar to Fig. 3, showing the atomizer screw and associated parts in locked or clamped position which they occupy when oil is being supplied to the atomizer.

Figure 6 is a vertical section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Figure 7 is a vertical section on line 7-7 of Fig.- 5. and

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view in vertical section showing parts of the oil burner including a jacket tube having a diffuser at the furnace end thereof, and the atomizer body with the atomizer barrel partly removed.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Fig. 8 shows diagrammatically a typical installation in which an atomizer jacket tube 20 is mounted in an air register body 22 and projects into a furnace and carries at its end a diffuser 24. On the outer end of the jacket tube is mounted an atomizer body usually in the form of a casting 26 which has a nipple 28 thereon (Fig. l) to which is connected the oil pipe 29 leading from a pressure manifold. Passing through the jacket tube is the atomizer barrel 34 having at its end the atomizer tip 36. Mounted on the end of the atomizerbarrel 34 is an atomizer handle member 38, preferably in the form of a casting having an oil passage 40 therethrough (Fig. 4), the upper endof which communicates with the bore of the barrel 34.

As shown particularly in Figs. 4 and 8, the atomizer body 26 has an air check valve chamber 42 therein in which is mounted a gravity actuated air check valve 44 suspended on a pivot 46 and having an annular valve seat groove 48 therein, adapted to seat upon an annular seat 50 when the atomizer barrel is withdrawn. This air check valve construction, which prevents loss of air pressure from the furnace when the atomizer barrel is withdrawn, is customarily employed on widely used oil burner installations and is not part of the present invention.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 3 and 4, the atomizer handle 38 is provided at its lower end with an. annular flange 52 which is adapted to enter an annular groove 54 in a ball check valve fitting 56 mounted in the atomizer body 26. A packing 58 is provided so as to make a sealed joint when the flange 52 is forced into groove 54. The check valve fitting 56 communicates with an oil passage 60 in the body 26, this passage-being controlled by a shut-01f cook 62. On the stem 64 of this cock is mounted an operating lever 66 which may be provided with a hand grip 68. The cock is-opened or closed by a quarter turn of this lever which is conveniently retained in either open or closed position by means of a round tip detent 70 (Fig. 2) urged by a spring 72 into engagement with one or other of the recesses 74 and 76 in a plate 78 mounted on the side of the ,atomizer body 26.

The atomizer handle 38 is forced into sealing position with the flange 52 pressed against the packing 58 in the groove 54 by means of an atomizer screw 80 which is shown in advanced position in Figs. 4 and 5, and in retracted position in Fig. 3. by means of a rotary nut turned by a grip or wheel 82, which however is normally disconnected from the nut so that it cannot operate the nut to retract the screw except after the shut-cit cock 62 has been closed. The

Fatented Feb. 4, 1958 This screw can be actuated screw 80 is held against rotation by a key 84 mounted in the stationary collar 86, the key working in a keyway 88 in screw. The screw is advanced or retracted by means of the rotary nut 90. The collar and nut are mounted in a housing 92 forming a part of the bracket 94 projecting outwardly from the atomizer body 26. The collar 86 is screwed into the end of a recess in the housing 92 and held against rotation by a set screw 96. This collar forms the front wall of the chamber in the housing. The rotary nut 90 is held against axial movement between a shoulder 98 in the bore of the housing and collar 86.

Connection between the rotary grip 82 and the nut 90 is made by means of a clutch connection which includes teeth 100 formed on the face of the nut 90 and teeth 102 formed on the end of a sliding clutch member 104 which has keys 106 on its inner circumference engaging splines 108 on the outside of the atomizer screw sleeve 110. The atomizer screw sleeve has a smooth bore 112 which receives the outer end of the atomizer screw 80,

and from the end of the screw sleeve 110 projects a stem 114 to which the grip 82 is keyed. When the sliding clutch member 104 is moved to the right (Fig. the grip, atomizer screw sleeve and sliding clutch member will rotate freely without moving the nut 90 or screw 80. When the clutch sleeve is shifted to the left, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to engage with the clutch teeth 100 on the nut 90, the rotation of the grip will turn the nut 90, and thereby advance or retract the atomizer screw.

Sliding movement of the sliding clutch member is accomplished by means of a shoe 116 riding in an annular groove 118 in the sliding clutch member. The shoe 116 is mounted on a bearing pin 120 which is eccentrically mounted on a head 122 on a stud 124 rotatably mounted in a bearing block 126 fitting in the housing 92. The outer end of the stud has a squared portion 128 on which is mounted a short crank arm 130 which is connected by means of a link 1332 with the short arm 134 of the lever 66 which, as already described, is mounted on the stem 64 of the shut-off cock 62.

The operation of this part of the apparatus will be evident from the foregoing description. Assuming oil is to be supplied to the atomizer, the atomizer barrel and handle are pushed all the way to the left, as shown in Fig. 4. This causes the flange 52 to fit tightly against its packing, so that no leakage is possible and oil can be pumped through the open cock 62 to the atomizer barrel. The atomizer handle is clamped in this position by the advanced atomizer screw 80. The atomizer screw 80 cannot be backed away from the handle so long as cock 62 is open, because when this cock is open the operating lever 66 is in the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, which draws the link 132 to the left as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l and in full lines in Fig. 5. Thus the. stud 124 is rotated to the position shownin Fig. 5 and the pin 120 has moved the sliding clutch 104 to the right. Rotation of the grip or wheel 82 will thus not turn the nut 90. The screw can be retracted only by swinging the lever 66 to the full line position shown in Fig. I, whereupon through the link 132 and connections the clutch sleeve 104 will move into engagement with the teeth 100 on the nut 90. Rotation of the grip 82 will now cause the retraction of the screw 80, whereupon by pulling out the atomizer handle 38 the end of the handle carrying the flange 52 is disengaged from the groove 54, as shown in Fig. 3. The body of the atomizer handle is grooved as indicated at 136 (Fig. 4) and fits upon an annular flange 138 on the atomizer body 26. This is a loose fit so that by pulling upon the atomizer handle it can be moved outwardly as described, and then rotated as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This moves the lower end of the atomizer handle out of alignment with the housing 92 and atomizer screw as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, and permits the complete withdrawal of the atomizer barrel from the jacket tube. Thus 4 the atomizer barrel can be withdrawn only after the shutoff cock 62 has been closed.

To prevent inadvertent discharge of oil by the accidental opening of the shut-01f cock while the atomizer barrel 34 and atomizer handle are displaced or removed, a ball check valve 140 is mounted in the ball check valve housing 56 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5). When the atomizer handle is moved to the right this ball seats upon a seat 142 under the influence of a spring 144 and of the oil pressure, if there is any pressure in the oil passage. The ball check valve can only be opened by forcing the atomizer handle to the left, whereupon a projection 146 on a fitting 148 mounted in the lower end of the oil passage 40 in the handle, forces the ball 140 to the left, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Whenever the atomizer handle is out of scaled position, therefore, a ball check valve is closed so that accidental opening of the cock 62 will not permit the escape of oil.

The construction above described thus takes care of the two possible conditions of danger mentioned heretofore, namely leakage of oil through connections separated by attempting to pull out the atomizer handle and barrel without first shutting off the oil pressure, and the accidental escape of oil due to turning on the oil pressure while the atomizer barrel is removed.

The particular constructions shown are very effective for accomplishing these purposes, but it will be understood that changes may be made therein, and the invention embodied in other structures. It is not, therefore, the intention to limit the patent to the specific constructions illustrated, but to cover the invention broadly in whatever form its principles may be utilized.

I claim:

1. In an oil burner, an atomizer barrel, an atomizer handle on which said barrel is mounted, said handle having an oil passage therethrough connected to said barrel, said atomizer handle having a seat thereon, an atomizer body having a seat thereon adapted to be engaged by the seat on the atomizer handle, said body having an oil duct therein adapted to be connected with the oil passage in the handle when said seats are in engagement, oil shutoff means in the duct in the atomizer body, and clamping means for holding the atomizer handle seat in engagement with the seat on the atomizer body, said clamping means being mounted in a fixed location with respect to said seats, said clamping means including a screw, means for holding the screw against rotation, and a rotary nut engaging the thread of the screw, means for mounting the nut to hold the same against longitudinal movement while permitting rotation thereof, means for rotating the nut so as to move the screw in an axial direction so as to permit separation of said seats nut rotating mechanism and a mechanical interlocking connection independent of oil pressure in the duct between said nut rotating mechanism and said oil shut-off means preventing rotation of said nut except when said oil shut-off means is shut, a housing enclosing said nut and sufficient of the driving means therefor to prevent direct manual or tool rotation of said nut so as to prevent actuation thereof except when said shut off means is shut, and means for swinging said atomizer handle so as to move the seat thereon out of alignment with the seat on the atomizer body and free from said clamping means so as to permit removal of the atomizer handle and barrel from the burner.

2. In an oil burner, an atomizer body having an oil duct therethrough, a shut-off cock in the atomizer body for closing said duct, said cock having a stem projecting from the side of the atomizer body, a lever on said stem for opening and closing the cock, a bracket projecting from the atomizer body carrying a housing having walls forming a chamber therein, a nut rotatably mounted in said chamber, cooperating formations on the nut and chamber walls holding said nut against axial movement in the chamber, an atomizer screw working in said nut, means for preventing rotation of the atomizer screw with relation to the housing, an atomizer screw sleeve in the housing, means for rotating said sleeve, a clutch sleeve mounted on said screw sleeve, cooperating formations on said sleeves permitting said clutch sleeve to slide on said screw sleeve, but preventing relative rotation therebetween, cooperating clutch formations on the nut and clutch sleeve adapted to be moved into and out of engagement by sliding movement of the clutch sleeve, an eccentric pin operably connected with said clutch sleeve for producing axial movement of said clutch sleeve, a stud carrying said eccentric pin, and linkage means connecting said shut-ofi cock operating lever and said stud so as to move said stud and shift said clutch sleeve when the shutofi cock is moved from open to closed position and vice versa.

3. In an oil burner, a removable atomizer, an oil duct for supplying pressure thereto, said duct including a duct section connected to the atomizer and removable therewith whenever the atomizer is removed, a separable joint between said duct section and a fixed part through which another portion of the duct passes, a shut-oft" valve in the duct in said fixed portion, clamping means for retaining said removable duct section in a position in which the separable joint is established so that oil may be supplied through said duct to the atomizer, said means including a clamping screw, means for holding the clamping screw against rotation, a rotary nut engaging the thread of said clamping screw, a housing in which said clamping screw and rotary nut are enclosed, means in said housing for holding said nut against longitudinal movement, means for rotating said nut to move said screw including a manual actuating member, separable clutch means operably connected to said manual actuating member and said nut and mechanical connections between the shut-oft valve and said clutch means for actuating said clutch means to cause the same to engage and disengage said nut, constructed and arranged to engage said clutch means when the shut-off valve is closed and disconnect said clutch means when the shut-off valve is open.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,533,482 Voorheis Apr. 14, 1925 1,630,926 Dahl May 31, 1927 2,125,020 Haynes July 26, 1938 2,240,977 Bryant May 6, 1941 2,276,424 Siversen Mar. 17, 1942 2,689,754 Dunton Sept. 21, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 599,162 Great Britain Mar. 5, 1948 599,165 Great Britain Mar. 5, 1948 

